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BMW Team RLL - Northeast Grand Prix - Race Final

Sun Jul 24 01:48:48 CEST 2016 Press Release

Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – July 23, 2016… The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Northeast Grand Prix turned into a demolition derby for BMW Team RLL as both BMW M6 GTLM racing cars ended the day on the wrecker. Both cars were pushed off the track by the same competitor’s car in Lime Rock Park’s downhill turn in different incidents, ending up in the tire wall and out of the race. The No. 25 M6, driven by Dirk Werner in second place at the time, was on the receiving end of a large impact. Luckily, Werner was unhurt. The race was won by the No. 4 Corvette C7.

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Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – July 23, 2016… The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
Northeast Grand Prix turned into a demolition derby for BMW Team RLL
as both BMW M6 GTLM racing cars ended the day on the wrecker. Both
cars were pushed off the track by the same competitor’s car in Lime
Rock Park’s downhill turn in different incidents, ending up in the
tire wall and out of the race. The No. 25 M6, driven by Dirk Werner in
second place at the time, was on the receiving end of a large impact.
Luckily, Werner was unhurt. The race was won by the No. 4 Corvette C7.

The race started with promise for the No. 25 M6 of Bill Auberlen and
Dirk Werner. Werner, starting the race from outside of the front row,
jumped into the lead on lap two and held it for more than one hour,
only relinquishing the point on lap 63 following a very strong move in
the uphill chicane by the No. 62 Ferrari of Toni Vilander. As Auberlen
was putting on his helmet, ready to takeover in a scheduled stop ten
laps later, Werner was drilled into the wall on lap 89. He was taken
to the infield care center and released. Bill Auberlen did not drive.

For the No. 100 M6 the race ended almost as soon as it began. John
Edwards, starting from the eighth place position, was hit in the
downhill turn on lap 5 and spun into the tire wall at the beginning of
the main straight. Damage to the car forced its retirement. Lucas Luhr
did not drive.

“Totally unnecessary driving by both drivers of the same car was
responsible for eliminating both of our cars from the race,” said an
angry Bobby Rahal, Team Principal. “I told the
officials if it was the last corner of the last lap of the race I
could understand it, but we were only just over half way through the
race. Obviously I am pretty upset about it. Dirk was doing a great
job and the 25 car was in a position to win this race and was
competitive enough to do it. Unfortunately we didn’t get far with the
100 car. We certainly expect the officials to do something about it.”

Dirk Werner, driver No. 25 BMW M6 GTLM (dnf): “That
was a really bad outcome for how the race started. I was able to get
up the front right from the start and stay there for a long time. When
I lost the lead I was bumped and had to go straight in the chicane.
Then the race was finished when someone put me in the tires in the
last turn, which is a fast turn. I think that was unnecessary in the
middle of the race. I am very unhappy and hope this is not how we want
to keep on racing. Thanks to the team the car was good again as it was
in the last couple of events, and for sure the car was good enough for
a podium.”

John Edwards, driver No. 100 BMW M6 GTLM (dnf): “We
have had a lot of bad luck this season and this time it was contact
with another car in a really high speed portion of the track. It was a
bit of a scary one, but fortunately the hit wasn’t too bad, but it
seemed to mess something up from the spin and the hit, so we could not continue.”

Round Eight of the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the
Continental Tire Road Race Showcase, will be held at Road America, in
Elkhart Lake, Wis., on Sunday, Aug. 7. The race will be broadcast live
on FOX Sports 1 from 3 - 6 p.m. ET. Follow BMW Team RLL on Twitter at
@BMWUSARacing for
“from-the-pit-box” updates all weekend.

BMW Group In America

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since
1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in
2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include
marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW
brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and
the Rolls-

Royce brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, a strategic design
consultancy in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and
various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing
Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing
network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5 and X3
Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 and X4 Sports Activity Coupes. The
BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through
networks of 341 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle
centers, 153 BMW motorcycle retailers, 125 MINI passenger car dealers,
and 36 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW
Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff
Lake, New Jersey.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

BMW’s partner, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, based in Hilliard,
Ohio and co-owned by three-time IndyCar Champion and 1986 Indianapolis
500 winner Bobby Rahal, former CBS Late Show host David Letterman and
Mi-Jack co-owner Mike Lanigan, has been competing for over two
decades. Prior to the start of their 25th season of competition in
2016, the team has compiled 37 victories, 49 poles, 144 podium
finishes, three series championships (1992, 2010, 2011) and claimed an
Indianapolis 500 victory (Buddy Rice in 2004). In 2009 the team joined
BMW of North America to campaign the new BMW M3 in the American Le
Mans Series. The following year the team won both the Manufacturer and
Team Championships in the GT category and swept all three GT titles -
Manufacturer, Team and Driver – in 2011. In 2012 the team finished
second in the Team Championship and third in the Manufacturer
Championship and in 2013, the team finished second in the Driver, Team
and Manufacturer Championship. The 2014 season brought a new challenge
with the creation of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and the
team finished on the podium six times including four second-place
finishes. In 2015, the team earned three wins, two poles and a total
of eight podium finishes to finish second in the Manufacturer, Team
and Driver championships. Prior to the start of the 2016 season BMW
Team RLL had won 13 races, 20 poles and 57 podium finishes.

CO2 emission information.

Fuel consumption figures based on the EU test cycle, may vary depending on the tyre format specified. Further information on official fuel consumption figures, specific CO2 emission values and the electric power consumption of new passenger cars is included in the “Guideline for fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and electric power consumption of new passenger cars", which can be obtained from dealerships and here as PDF.

Further News for: Automotive · BMW Motorsport

Related Video Content.

Fuel consumption figures based on the EU test cycle, may vary depending on the tyre format specified. Further information on official fuel consumption figures, specific CO2 emission values and the electric power consumption of new passenger cars is included in the “Guideline for fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and electric power consumption of new passenger cars", which can be obtained from dealerships and here as PDF.